Where I Belong part 3
by Stari
Summary: The final part in the trilogy set after SB


> PART THREE
> 
> **"You are an amazing person." Nick said with admiration shining in his deep**   
**blue eyes as he looked down at his wife. Gabi, curled up in his arms,**   
**returned the adoring gaze as she ran her hand over his rough cheek, the**   
**stubble scratching her palm. This was the last morning that they would be in**   
**Bermuda, and Gabi had finally finished explaining her sordid history to him.**   
**He now knew everything, from how her father abused her to why she came to**   
**Sunset Beach in the first place, and what Ricardo had done before she left**   
**to make himself feel vindicated.******
> 
> **"No, I'm not." She sighed. "I hurt people everywhere I go, Nick. And I don't**   
**want to hurt you." She looked up, treasuring the love in his eyes and**   
**remembering the pain in Antonio's.**   
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> 
> **"You could never hurt me, Gabi. I love you. That's what marriage is all**   
**about – getting through things together, you and me. This is just one of**   
**many I know, but we can make it, Gabi. I know we can."**   
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> 
> **"I've been married before, Nick- it's not all you make it out to be. Two**   
**rings don't make all of our problems go away." A forlorn tear slid down her**   
**cheek as she refused to meet his gaze.******
> 
> **"Maybe not…" Nick mused, far from giving up. "But they do give us the**   
**confidence we need in each other to make our way through the problems and**   
**come out stronger, and more in love." He wiped the tear away and kissed her**   
**with a feathery touch of his lips to hers. With his hand on her chin, he**   
**tilted her face up to him, forcing her to look him in the eye. "When I**   
**talked to him – Tony, I mean – you know what?"******
> 
> **"What?" Gabi looked up at him, scared and a little weary and cautious, but**   
**interested in what he had to say.******
> 
> **"I think that if you had let yourself off the hook for some of these things**   
**– Ricardo going crazy, losing control when that building collapsed, I think**   
**you and Antonio could have made it together. I could see how much he loves**   
**you – yes, loves – the other day. And," He kissed her softly, just to the**   
**side of her mouth. "I know you must have loved him a lot."******
> 
> **"Of course," He continued after a pause. "His loss is my gain, but I hate to**   
**see a person like that suffer." Nick looked at Gabi pointedly and she could**   
**see that his little speech was coming to a close. "I think that you and he**   
**should talk."******
> 
> **"Nick-" Gabi protested, unable to fathom what she would say to her long lost**   
**lover when faced with him, alone, no where to run.******
> 
> **"I think that you have to, for your own sake, too. You won't be able to**   
**really let this rest until you get some closure. Please, Gabi, do it for me**   
**– for us."******
> 
> **"For us?" Gabi repeated doubtfully.******
> 
> **"For us." Nick confirmed. "More than anything else in the world, I want you**   
**to be happy. And for you to be happy, you have to put everything behind you.**   
**I really think that getting things out in the open between the two of you**   
**would make it better." He hugged her tightly to him and ran his hand over**   
**her smooth, warm skin. "I love you, Gabi."******
> 
> **"I love you, too." Gabi responded immediately. "But I don't know… I mean,**   
**wouldn't talking to Antonio just make things worse? I'm married now, I can't**   
**let him think… I can't…"******
> 
> **"He's a smart guy, Gabi. He knows this isn't a fairy tale world we live in.**   
**You just got married, you're on your honeymoon. I don't think he would**   
**expect that you were coming to tell him you wanted him to whisk you away and**   
**live happily ever after."******
> 
> **"No… no, Antonio wouldn't think that." Gabi wiped her eyes again, rubbing**   
**the tears away, and kissed him. "I love you so much, Nick. I never thought**   
**that it could be this wonderful… getting things out in the open, I didn't**   
**think you would understand any of this. This is… you are so… amazing." She**   
**hugged him tightly again, burying her face in the warm hollow of his**   
**shoulder. "I love you so much."******
> 
> **"I know, sweetie. I love you too." He felt her warm body pressed against his**   
**and he wanted to make love to her again, but he knew that there were other**   
**things she had to do. "You'd better shower and get dressed… check out time**   
**is in a couple of hours and…"******
> 
> **"And… I need to talk to Antonio before he leaves." Gabi finished. She shyly**   
**reached for a robe and stood up, wrapping it around her. Just before she**   
**closed the bathroom door, she turned around shyly and smiled. "Want to join**   
**me?"******
> 
> **Nick's eyebrows shot up as he tossed back the covers and hurried to take her**   
**up on that offer.**   
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> 
> * * *
> 
>   
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> 
> **Antonio, fresh from a shower and half-dressed in black slacks with no shirt,**   
**stared out at the scenic view offered from his fourth floor balcony. He was**   
**completely oblivious to the natural beauty around him, and instead just**   
**stared unseeingly, his mind producing images that made him want to hit**   
**something. He had never been more miserable in his life.******
> 
> **Gabi was married to another man. It had been bad when she was married to**   
**Ricardo, but he hadn't worried about these things – not at first, at least. Ricardo**   
**had been paralyzed, he and Gabi hadn't – they weren't intimate. Ad by the time**   
**they were, Antonio had gotten accustomed to thinking of Gabi as his sister in law.**   
**But this… this was very different. Visions tortured him day in and day out, every**   
**night he lay in bed thinking… was Gabi making love to her husband? Were they**   
**kissing at this very moment? Was she saying those three special words that**   
**Antonio longed for her to tell him to another man? Was she-******
> 
> **A knock on the door jarred him out of his sulking, self-indulgent reverie.**   
**He rubbed his eyes wearily and made his way to the door, reaching for the**   
**knob carelessly. He remembered his state of undress, and was about to reach**   
**for a shirt when the knock came again. Figuring it was just room service, he**   
**thought to himself 'what the hell' and opened the door anyway.******
> 
> **Gabi was standing there.******
> 
> **"Antonio- Antonio!" She said, feeling like the breath had been knocked out**   
**of her as she took in his perfectly sculpted, tanned skin and well developed**   
**muscles. Her tongue darted out to moisten her lips as she tore her gaze from**   
**his chest to his face. Total shock greeted her. "Antonio…" She repeated for**   
**the third time. "I- we – need to talk."******
> 
> **"Gabi…" Antonio recovered slightly, grabbing a T-shirt and jerking it over**   
**his head. "Why… come in, come in. What do we need to talk about?" He held**   
**the door open as she stepped inside and then shut it firmly behind her.******
> 
> **"Us." Gabi looked up at him and felt the familiar tugging in her heart as**   
**she saw those dark, pain filled eyes.**   
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> 
> * * *
> 
>   
****   
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> 
> **Nick leaned back against the pillow, fully dressed, on top of the immaculately**   
**made bed and thought about everything that had happened**   
**these past few days. The wedding, of course, the most wonderful. It had**   
**been small, his family and friends and a few of Gabi's friends. But seeing**   
**her in that beautiful dress, walking down the aisle with that 'I want to run,**   
**but I won't' look on her face… thankfully, that had faded when she took her**   
**place next to him, making room for an expression filled with sheer happiness.******
> 
> **Then came the honeymoon… all in all, it was a pretty productive four days. He**   
**had finally gotten through to her that he loved her unconditionally, no matter**   
**what skeletons she had in her closet. And they had certainly been some**   
**skeletons. An abusive father, an ex-husband, a love affair with a priest.******
> 
> **Only one thing weighed down what would be a very good mood.******
> 
> **Gabi knew what kind of guy he was. He loved her more than he had every**   
**loved anything in his life, he loved her more than life itself and he would do**   
**anything to see her happy. Anything, no matter how much it hurt him. Gabi**   
**knew that, and she loved him. But did she love him enough? After confronting**   
**a lost love, and rehashing old emotions… would Gabi choose to come back to him?**   
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> 
> * * *
> 
>   
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> 
> **"Us?" Antonio mimed unsurely.******
> 
> **"Yes, us." Gabi sat down on the bed and looked at him expectantly until he**   
**sat down next to her. "When I left Sunset Beach, we didn't exactly get a**   
**chance to talk things through."******
> 
> **She paused, waiting for him to say something and when he didn't, she**   
**continued. "There was so much that I wanted to tell you, Antonio. I'm sorry**   
**for all of the pain I caused you and your brother, and your whole family. I**   
**hated what happened to you and Ricardo… even before the end, I came between**   
**you."******
> 
> **"Gabi, you didn't-" Antonio frowned at her derogatory words.******
> 
> **"Shh, Antonio, let me finish. I did come between you, and leaving was the**   
**only way that I could make sure things got better instead of worse. I also**   
**want you to know that I loved you, Antonio. So much, more than I could ever**   
**tell you. You were my best friend, and you were always there when I needed**   
**you. No one had ever cared for me like that. I didn't do anything to make**   
**you want to be my friend, but you were anyway and you saw things in me**   
**that no one else did. You took the good inside of me and showed me how to**   
**be a better person. I loved you for that, and for just being you." Tears streaming**   
**down her face, Gabi reached over and took his hands. "You are an amazing**   
**person, Antonio, and I will always love you. Part of me belongs to you, now**   
**and forever, and I want you to know that. Never doubt what I felt then, or**   
**what I feel now."******
> 
> **"Gabi…" Moisture in his eyes blurred the vision before him, but Antonio**   
**could see the emotion shining in Gabi's eyes. "I love you, too."******
> 
> **"I know." Gabi smiled tenderly at him and stroked his face. "I'm married**   
**now, and Nick is a wonderful person. I do love him, he will make me happy.**   
**And because of you, because you taught me how to love like you do –**   
**unselfishly, with everything I am – I know I can make him happy, too."******
> 
> **"I'm glad. All I've ever wanted was for you to be happy, Gabi." Antonio**   
**looked down at their joined hands and smiled faintly. "I always imagined**   
**that we would be happy together… that's the way it always ended in my**   
**dreams… but if he makes you happy, then I'm glad."******
> 
> **"Antonio…" Gabi whispered, closing her eyes. She took a moment to regain**   
**control of her emotions, and then resumed talking. "Are you happy, Antonio?"******
> 
> **"I'm a priest. That's all I've ever been, and even though it's what kept me**   
**from you… the priesthood is still what gives me the most peace in my life."**   
**He answered as honestly as he could.******
> 
> **"Then I'm glad, too." She leaned up and kissed him, what was supposed to be**   
**a platonic kiss on the cheek. But he turned slightly and Gabi was thrown off**   
**course.******
> 
> **Their lips met in a sweet moment, a gentle insistence inside of them forcing**   
**the kiss to linger. He could taste her salty tears as their lips moved**   
**together, the physical contact conveying all the things that they had**   
**already said, but needed to hear again in some form.******
> 
> **Just as passion began to work its way into the embrace, Gabi pulled back. Antonio**   
**wanted to protest the abrupt ending, he pleaded with her to stay with his eyes,**   
**but Gabi knew what she had to do. Her fingers tightened around his hand for a brief**   
**moment before she released his hand. "I have to go now, Antonio, but always**   
**remember… I love you."******
> 
> **She ran her finger over his lips, silently burning the picture in her memory**   
**and then she did what she never imagined she would have the nerve to**   
**do. She walked away from him for the second time.**   
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> 
> * * *
> 
>   
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> 
> **Nick was waiting with an apprehensive look on his face as he stood near**   
**the front desk, where Gabi had agreed to meet him. He had gathered all**   
**of their luggage together and had it waiting. All that was left was for his**   
**wife to join him, and they would be on their way home. But would she?**   
**His heart pounded as the seconds ticked away.******
> 
> **Gabi saw him there waiting for her and she reached up to wipe the tears**   
**from her eyes. She had kept him waiting so she would have time to pull**   
**herself together after a fierce crying jag. Leaving Antonio had been hard,**   
**but she knew it was what she had to do. A shaky smile formed on her**   
**mouth as she saw him glance down at his watch. Nick loved her. He loved**   
**her, and he would make her happy. He was her future… she belonged with him.**   
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> 
> * * *
> 
>   
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> 
> **Antonio stood outside the mission in Sunset Beach, looking at the building with**   
**a new kind of scrutiny. His life was contained in this structure. It was his home,**   
**where he lived and served the Lord, where he preached and taught and listened,**   
**gave advice and tried in his own way to make the world a better place. He lived**   
**it and he loved it. Gabi knew that… she knew what a part of him this was.******
> 
> **He was grateful for her strength. Had it been his decision, they would have spent**   
**the rest of their lives on some isolated island, living a dream. But neither of them**   
**would have really been happy, and Gabi had known that. She had let him go so**   
**they could both be where they needed to be… where they belonged.**   


**The End**   
**Sorry Guys - But don't worry, I'll throw in an extra**   
**love scene in old Love, New loss to make up for this one!**


End file.
